Still Life with Robin: More Name Games

Bottlenose dolphins swim with their calves in the Potomac River
NMFS Permit No. 19403

by Peggy Robin

It’s another naming contest! 

Last month we were given the chance to name the Ward 3 homeless shelter. (See  http://bit.ly/2JPcBVpe.) You no longer have the ability to suggest names from scratch; at this stage you are being asked to choose from the three top contenders selected by the DC government: 

1. The Prospect
2. The Oasis 
3. The Vision

You can vote at this link: https://jenna100.typeform.com/to/NtlOir - deadline is May 30.

Once you’ve done that, you can turn your attention from a building that needs a name to make it seem welcoming to the families who will be staying there, to wandering sea creatures – a pair of dolphins -- who have no need of names at all. It's just something for the humans to bestow on them to make them seem more like individuals to us.

The pair, now known only as D1 and D2, have been seen swimming in the Potomac River., and the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project has invited the public to come up with something to call them. And no, “Flipper” is not allowed! Neither is “Dolphy McDolphin.” 

You can read more about these two dolphins, and more about dolphins in the Polomac and the Chesapeake Bay, in this Washington Post article: https://wapo.st/2Qdsaal. There’s a link to the naming contest in the article, but here’s a direct link:
https://potomac.org/name-potomac-dolphins 

We don’t know the sex of the dolphins, so try to pick something that will sound good for either males or females.

We don’t know the ages – just that they are “mature adults” – so nothing too childish, please!

A few more restrictions. A name will not be considered if:

* it is a trademark;
* Potomac Conservancy and Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project deem it offensive, obscene, or inappropriate; or
* it has already been assigned to a Potomac dolphin. Review the list of current dolphin names here: http://bit.ly/2EikA9X 

I would add: Remember, these are intelligent beings! So no demeaning names. Think of something dignified….well, something sounding of high porpoise! (Sorry, just couldn’t stop myself!)

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.